Browsing by Author "Megahan, Michael Larry"

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    Some lexemes associated with the concept of JOY in Biblical Hebrew : a cognitive linguistic investigation
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014-04) Megahan, Michael Larry; Van der Merwe, C. H. J.; Kruger, P. A.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Department of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Theories of lexical semantics have undergone an evolutionary development for centuries. Geeraerts (2010) has traced their development from the historical-philological era (circa 1880) until the early 21st century. The current situation finds two basic approaches to lexical studies, with scholars positioned on a continuum from a minimalist position to a maximalist position. The former makes a demarcation between linguistics and pragmatics, relegating word meaning to pragmatics and a separation of word knowledge from world knowledge. The latter argues that there can be no separation made between lexical meaning and contextual meaning (word knowledge and world knowledge). The study is based on insights from the maximalist perspective. Second, it proposes that it is necessary to approach semantical studies with a composite approach taking into consideration frames, conceptual metaphor and metonymy, prototype, Idealized Cognitive Models, grammar and figurative uses of language (including non-verbal expressions and symbolic gestures) in order to have a full understanding of the concept a word or expression symbolizes. Third, all of the occurrences of a word or expression that appear in a corpus are analyzed in order to determine a possible range of polysemy as it is expressed in actual language usage. Finally, the context of the research is Bible Translation. One question asked in the investigation is, what information gleaned from the composite model can be appropriately presented in a specialist bilingual lexicon based on a frame model? The results of the research using the eclectic model provided a very broad understanding of some of the lexemes associated with JOY in biblical Hebrew. It was determined that these lexemes were associated with a concept of JOY that was very similar to the five-stage EVENT STRUCTURE metaphor proposed by Kövecses (2010) for emotions in English. Second, the investigation was able to verify the core features of JOY—volition, desire, determination and satisfaction—and to indicate how different construal operations activated specific features of the meaning potential in each linguistic frame. Third, the differences and similarities of each of the specific lexemes that were studied were determined and described. Fourth, it was demonstrated how the appropriate information needed by translators could be described and suggested for entry into a bilingual (biblical Hebrew-English) lexicon designed specifically for Bible Translators.